— — — — — —
Elsewhere...
After tagging [Shiroyasha] in the chat group and getting a reminder from her— {High-tier beings can't go full power in Little Garden's lower layers or it might literally collapse reality,} — Veyron once again confirmed that he was confident in his own ability to self-restrict.
That was when the mission panel finally updated with a new cross-world task.
It had more conditions than a glitched-out boss fight, including this note:
[If any signs emerge that your presence may destabilize the Outer Gates of Little Garden, you will be immediately and unconditionally ejected.]
Before he could even set a world anchor or get his directions, something unexpected happened.
Veyron received a direct message—from the world itself. Or rather, from the Central Core System of Little Garden.
[The Core requests that you temporarily lower your restrictions. By observing your 'existence', it will generate a suitable Spirit Rank for you…]
...
"Mr. Admin?"
Veyron glanced across the low table at the kimono-wearing loli girl staring at him like he was the world's rarest collectible.
"Yeah, the Core contacted me directly," he said calmly.
Shiroyasha blinked, then snorted softly. "So you really are connected to the Central Core… huh."
After thinking for a moment, she continued, "Spirit Rank is basically a ranking of life itself. For people like us, it's the foundation of our being. For example, my 'Spirit Rank' as a Celestial Star Spirit is tied directly to my total mass in the physical world…"
After giving a brief rundown, she added, "That said, I've never seen anyone quite like you—someone who genuinely comes from outside the Little Garden system. So if you can refuse the Core's observation, I'd think twice before agreeing to it."
"I know," Veyron replied with a nod.
Turning inward, he said to the Core, "It's not that I don't trust you—but this situation is new for both of us. Better safe than sorry, don't you think?"
When he was done communicating with the Core, he noticed Shiroyasha giving him a puzzled look.
He shrugged. "The Core offered a second choice—if I refuse to be observed, it'll just assign me a completely blank Spirit Rank, with no built-in concepts. …Honestly? Pretty reasonable."
And with that, he casually summoned a World Anchor and dropped it into place.
"…Huh?" Shiroyasha twitched.
The Central Core? Reasonable?
She understood everything that happened, but still, her brain just flat-out refused to believe it.
...
..
[You've acquired a new trait — "Spirit Rank (White)"]
[Spirit Rank (White): An original, untainted divinity — a blank Soul Grid.]
The moment that notification popped up on his Trait System panel, Veyron instantly felt a strange new "concept" taking root deep within him.
"A Spirit Rank," Shiroyasha explained, "comes from the very first gift any individual can receive: a name and life."
She sensed that Veyron had deliberately let go of his usual containment over the presence of this newly formed Spirit Rank—and once she locked onto its signature, she spoke again: "For a proper Spirit Rank to fully form, both a name and life are essential. Though... rare exceptions do exist."
"A name and life, huh…" Veyron murmured thoughtfully.
His name? That was obviously "Veyron."
That was his full name—VEYRON. No family name. No past. He had cast aside his old identity the moment he transmaginated into the Touhou Project world. From that point on, he would be the beginning—and that name would be all that he was.
His life? Well, the fact that he existed—was thinking, feeling, moving—was proof enough, wasn't it?
The two fundamental components were now clear.
And right at that moment, Veyron felt the blank Spirit Rank fully integrate into his being, becoming a part of his very existence.
The clearest sign?
His trait [Limiter Release (Gold)]—the one that granted him infinite growth and endless potential—was now successfully interacting with the newly formed [Spirit Rank (White)].
At first, the blank Spirit Rank felt like it had the presence of an average human.
But within a few breaths, that scale began to skyrocket—two average humans' worth… three… four… five...
"You… This… This shouldn't even be possible…"
Shiroyasha stared at him in disbelief.
Once someone confirms their identity, it makes sense for their Spirit Rank to fluctuate a bit.
If it remained at the level of a newborn—well, that would make sense too. As far as the Little Garden was concerned, Veyron was a new existence.
Most importantly, none of the worlds Veyron visited were under Little Garden's radar. That meant no influence, no divine recognition, and no shortcuts to power—unlike well-known entities like Zeus, Thor, or others tied to worlds acknowledged by Little Garden.
But given what she'd learned from the chat group—the same group where longtime members had been freaking out about Veyron's current strength—Shiroyasha also knew that this was the guy who, just a few months ago, had entered the group as what the system itself considered an "ordinary human." A nobody.
Now he could handcraft universes like it was no big deal.
So, a sudden leap in Spirit Rank level—from one to hundreds, or even thousands of average individuals—wasn't that surprising.
What was shocking was how fast it happened.
He'd just formed the Spirit Rank. A second ago, it was baseline. Now? It was evolving at a pace that even she hadn't accounted for.
This wasn't just a level-up—it was rewriting the rules.
Was there anything in the Little Garden's history that even resembled this kind of growth?
Actually... yes.
Among the Three Strongest Species in the Garden, there was one that stood at the very pinnacle of beasts—the Pure-Blood Dragons.
Born from nothing, forged by their own will, and recognized through self-observation, these dragons could never lose power, never fade, and had limitless potential to keep evolving. Their growth was endless.
But Veyron?
He was born outside the Little Garden. His Spirit Rank didn't even exist until the Garden's Central System gave him one.
So could he possibly qualify as one of the Garden's officially recognized 'Strongest Species'?
Shiroyasha thought for a moment.
Then shook her head.
No, that couldn't be right.
Sure, there had been cases where pure-blooded dragons from worlds completely untouched by the Garden had suddenly appeared.
But the 'worlds' from those cases weren't the same as the worlds linked to this Dimensional Chat Group.
If she accepted the chat group's definition of what constitutes a "world," then both the Little Garden and those distant places together made up a single, unified multiverse.
Like Marvel. Like DC.
That meant Veyron's existence... was something entirely new. And far, far beyond what the rules were designed to handle.
"What are you thinking about?"
Veyron waved his hand in front of the little girl in a kimono to snap her out of it.
"I was wondering... what kind of being you really are, Veyron."
Shiroyasha said, then hesitated for a moment when she sensed Veyron's spirit rank—which had ballooned to six digits in such a short time—and said seriously, "You might want to tone it down a bit, Veyron. Not many people in the lower levels can directly perceive someone's spirit rank like I can, but it's not like there are none."
"And someone like me tends to draw... a lot of attention."
The Little Garden had seven layers—or gates—that made up its world. The closer one lived to the center, Gate Number One, the stronger they were. That meant a single-digit ranking marked the strongest, while "Seven-digits" was the weakest...
"Relax, I can handle this kind of small risk." Veyron grinned and waved it off. Thanks to his brief link with the system core, he already had a decent idea of how this world viewed him.
Still, despite his words, he reined in the fluctuations of his spirit rank a little—out of respect for Shiroyasha's advice.
After all, the only reason he had revealed his true level in the first place... was to show her.
Shiroyasha: "..."
I wasn't worried about you being in danger.
I was worried that some idiot—someone who's been living in peace too long and forgot how to respect real power—would sense your spirit rank and decide it's a good idea to come looking for trouble.
"Anyway!"
"This one's battle aura. That's magic. This is Chakra...…"
Shiroyasha pulled a small card from her sleeve, and with a flick of her fingers, several crystal orbs—each about the size of a marble—materialized in the air in front of her.
The kimono-clad loli began explaining to Veyron the different types of power sealed within each of the crystals.
These crystals were gifts sold by certain communities that had mastered the origin of a particular power system. When used, they could grant even those with no prior affinity a natural talent for that kind of power. Unsurprisingly, they were always in high demand and constantly out of stock.
But for someone like Shiroyasha—who belonged to [Thousand Eyes], the biggest commercial alliance community in all of Little Garden, with eyes and influence stretching across the upper and lower layers of every region—whether or not she could get her hands on something like this really just came down to whether she wanted to or not.
Veyron picked up the crystal containing battle aura and lightly pressed it between his fingers.
Crack.
The crystal shattered.
The instant the energy source within touched his skin, it was completely absorbed.
[Divine Ki (EX)]
[Lv.10: Divine Ki power +7]
[Lv.20: Divine Ki power +14]
[…]
[Lv.100: Divine Ki power +70]
His traits updated again. The buff of [Divine Ki] had jumped from 330 to 385.
And that didn't even include the multipliers from [Divine Will] or [Divine Body].
"So spirit rank... and gifts … this is how it works?"
After absorbing the [Battle Aura] gift, it had turned into a new trait in his system, just like all the other power seeds he had absorbed before. His Ki now naturally took on the properties of battle aura, along with its unique gift characteristics.
Feeling the way this new gift-type Ki could now link and sync with his spirit rank, Veyron started to fall into thought.
.
.
.